The Stooges

The Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, are an American proto-punkband from Ann Arbor, Michigan, first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003. Although they sold few records in their original incarnation, and often performed for indifferent or hostile audiences, the Stooges are widely regarded as instrumental in the rise of punk rock, as well as influential to alternative rock, heavy metal and rock music at large. The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them 78th on their list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

History

Formation (1967–1968)

Iggy Pop (born James Newell Osterberg) played drums in several Ann Arbor-area bands as a teenager, including the Iguanas and, later, the Prime Movers. The Prime Movers nicknamed Osterberg "Iggy" in reference to his earlier band.

Osterberg was first inspired to form the Stooges after meeting blues drummer Sam Lay during a visit to Chicago. He returned to Detroit with the idea that simply copying established blues performers was not enough – he wanted to create a whole new form of blues music. Brothers Ron (guitar) and Scott Asheton (drums) and their friend Dave Alexander (bass guitar) rounded out the rest of the band, with Osterberg taking vocal duties. Osterberg was drawn to Ron Asheton after seeing him perform in a covers band, the Chosen Few, believing "I’ve never met a convincing musician that didn’t look kind of ill and kind of dirty, and Ron had those two things covered!" The three nicknamed Osterberg "Pop" after a local character whom Osterberg resembled. Shortly after witnessing an MC5 concert in Ann Arbor, Osterberg began using the stage name Iggy Pop, a name that he has used ever since.

The Stooges (album)

The Stooges is the self-titled debut studio album by American rock band The Stooges. It was released on August 5, 1969 by record label Elektra. Two songs, "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "1969", were released as singles and the album peaked at No. 106 on the Billboard album chart.

It is considered a landmark proto-punk album. With Ron Asheton's walls of distortion, and distorted wah wah solos, textures and power chord riffs, it is also considered to have had an impact on hard rock.

Recording

For their first album, the Stooges had intended to record five songs: "I Wanna Be Your Dog", "No Fun", "1969", "Ann" and "We Will Fall". The five songs were staples—and essentially the basis—of the Stooges' live set at the time. A typical Stooges song of the period would involve two minutes of composed song followed by several minutes of improvisation. Having assumed that the five songs as normally performed would cover requirements for the album, the Stooges were told by their record label Elektra that they needed more material. According to Iggy Pop, "We handed [the five-song version of the album] in and they refused it. They said, 'There aren't enough songs!' So we lied and said, 'That's OK, we've got lots more songs.'"

The Three Stooges

The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the mid–20th century, best known for their numerous Columbiashort subject films that are still syndicated on television. Their hallmark was physical farce and slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names of "Moe, Larry, and Curly", or as "Moe, Larry, and Shemp" (among other lineups, depending on the particular film). There were six active stooges, five of whom performed in the shorts. Moe and Larry were always present, until the final years of the ensemble's run of more than forty years.

The act began as part of a mid-1920s vaudeville comedy act, billed as Ted Healy and his Stooges, consisting of Healy, Moe Howard, his brother Shemp Howard, and Larry Fine. The four made one feature film, Soup to Nuts, before Shemp left to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by his younger brother, Jerome (Curly Howard), in 1932. Two years later, the trio left Healy and signed on to appear in their own short subjects for Columbia, now billed as "The Three Stooges".

After over a decade of casting problems, principal photography took place from May to July 2011. The film was released on April 13, 2012.

Plot

The film is composed of three acts, which are referred to as episodes (a reference to how the original Three Stooges short films were packaged for television by Columbia Pictures).

Act / Episode 1: More Orphan Than Not

In 1977, the children at the Sisters of Mercy Orphanage are playing soccer with an old soda can in the front yard. But then, Sister Mary-Mengele (Larry David), the meanest nun in the orphanage gets their attention by telling them to go inside and do their work. The kids sing "Everybody is Special", but she tells the kids to stop and go to work. Later, Moe, Larry and Curly are dumped on the doorstep of the orphanage as babies. Ever since, the trio have wreaked havoc in the place, leaving the nuns who run it utterly terrified, especially Sister Mary-Mengele who has always hated the trio. Ten years later, in 1987, out of desperation, when a prospective couple comes to adopt, the exasperated nuns bring out the trio as being the only three available, eventually adding a fourth when another boy, Teddy, enters the picture. The couple, the Harters (Stephen Collins and Carly Craig), decides to pick Moe, but when he requests Larry and Curly to join him, he is dropped back off at the orphanage, and they choose Teddy instead.

The Stooges

The Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, are an American proto-punkband from Ann Arbor, Michigan, first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003. Although they sold few records in their original incarnation, and often performed for indifferent or hostile audiences, the Stooges are widely regarded as instrumental in the rise of punk rock, as well as influential to alternative rock, heavy metal and rock music at large. The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them 78th on their list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

History

Formation (1967–1968)

Iggy Pop (born James Newell Osterberg) played drums in several Ann Arbor-area bands as a teenager, including the Iguanas and, later, the Prime Movers. The Prime Movers nicknamed Osterberg "Iggy" in reference to his earlier band.

Osterberg was first inspired to form the Stooges after meeting blues drummer Sam Lay during a visit to Chicago. He returned to Detroit with the idea that simply copying established blues performers was not enough – he wanted to create a whole new form of blues music. Brothers Ron (guitar) and Scott Asheton (drums) and their friend Dave Alexander (bass guitar) rounded out the rest of the band, with Osterberg taking vocal duties. Osterberg was drawn to Ron Asheton after seeing him perform in a covers band, the Chosen Few, believing "I’ve never met a convincing musician that didn’t look kind of ill and kind of dirty, and Ron had those two things covered!" The three nicknamed Osterberg "Pop" after a local character whom Osterberg resembled. Shortly after witnessing an MC5 concert in Ann Arbor, Osterberg began using the stage name Iggy Pop, a name that he has used ever since.